I have started the countdown to Christmas, and 2008 is approaching the end. Since the major journals in mathematics education are having a few slow days at the moment, I found it useful to start reflecting about the year that is soon behind us, and the one which lies ahead.
I started this blog in February this year, and in the welcome post on February 5, I wrote:
Between July 1 and December 1, the blog had 5423 unique visitors, from 114 countries. I know this doesn't sound like a lot, but for a niche blog like this, I think it is actually quite good. For me, it is also interesting to note that my own country - Norway - is only in the third spot when it comes to number of visitors.
Most of my time has been spent on covering articles from peer-reviewed journals in mathematics education, and I have also covered some conferences. This is something I intend to continue doing, but I have been thinking about different possible ways of doing this. First, I have thought about the possibility of writing more about some main articles in a way that people who are not researchers can relate to. I think it is important for researchers to communicate their results not only to fellow researchers. Unfortunately, but understandably, most teachers do not read our research journals! So, I have started thinking about writing some abstracts or impressions of research articles that teachers, parents and others who are interested but not researchers might relate to. I have also started thinking about making a stronger effort into providing an even better overview of the field (indexing journal articles, updating the conference calendar more, etc.). These are some of my own thoughts. But I am also interested in learning about your ideas! So, if you read this blog frequently, or if this is the first time you drop by ... What do you think? What would be more useful to you? Please write comments to this post, or send me an e-mail to let me know!
I already know what an incredible learning experience this blog has been for me, but now I want to know how I can make it a better experience for you - the readers - as well!
I started this blog in February this year, and in the welcome post on February 5, I wrote:
There are so many journals, so many conferences, so many web-sites that cover research in mathematics education. This blog will be my humble attempt to cover the most important ones. In the sidebar, you can find feeds from the most important scientific journals in mathematics education research. In this blog, I will comment on new and interesting (to me at least) articles in these and other journals. I will also try to follow some of the most important conferences in mathematics education, as well as sharing interesting bookmarks regarding mathematics education.Now, ten months later, I think it's appropriate to look back and see where I have come. The blog started out as a personal wish to get to know my own field of research better, and I personally feel that I have been extremely successful in this realm! I never advertised much for this blog, but when I started tracking the statistics with Google Analytics in late June, I realized that lots of people from all over the world actually read the blog!
Between July 1 and December 1, the blog had 5423 unique visitors, from 114 countries. I know this doesn't sound like a lot, but for a niche blog like this, I think it is actually quite good. For me, it is also interesting to note that my own country - Norway - is only in the third spot when it comes to number of visitors.
Most of my time has been spent on covering articles from peer-reviewed journals in mathematics education, and I have also covered some conferences. This is something I intend to continue doing, but I have been thinking about different possible ways of doing this. First, I have thought about the possibility of writing more about some main articles in a way that people who are not researchers can relate to. I think it is important for researchers to communicate their results not only to fellow researchers. Unfortunately, but understandably, most teachers do not read our research journals! So, I have started thinking about writing some abstracts or impressions of research articles that teachers, parents and others who are interested but not researchers might relate to. I have also started thinking about making a stronger effort into providing an even better overview of the field (indexing journal articles, updating the conference calendar more, etc.). These are some of my own thoughts. But I am also interested in learning about your ideas! So, if you read this blog frequently, or if this is the first time you drop by ... What do you think? What would be more useful to you? Please write comments to this post, or send me an e-mail to let me know!
I already know what an incredible learning experience this blog has been for me, but now I want to know how I can make it a better experience for you - the readers - as well!
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5 comments:
There is a way to track these and other educational journals in RSS readers, too, see this list: http://itls.usu.edu/wiki/journals
If you know of any other math education journals missing from that list that have RSS feeds, let me know and I'll add them (or you can click the 'add new comment' link at the bottom of that page).
Thanks for your comments, Doug! I am of course aware of RSS, and a combination of RSS and e-mail alerts is the way I keep myself up to date on the major journals. If you want to see the feed/Google Reader shared page of all the journals I follow, you can take a look at: http://www.google.com/reader/shared/user/07716708065977899712/label/faglig
-r
Dear professor Reidar,
I've started to read your blog since April, this year, and I can say that your blog is one of my favorite. I've found important information, but there is a little problem.In my country, many people can't download the different journals because is neccesary to pay for that and they don't have enough money. Even thought, I've try to share and divulge the several fields of Mathematics Education whit my partners.
Now, I'm studying a Master's degree in Mathematics Education. Likewise, I'd like to research in History of Mathematics' field, maybe you can upload papers about it.
Finally, I appreciate your time for create and update this important blog.
Dear Carlos,
Thanks a lot for your comments! That means a lot to me!
I am aware of the problem you are facing. I am very much in favour of open-access, and fortunately, several open-access journals have appeared lately. The major journals are problematic though...
If there are some particular articles you want, I might be able to help you out. Send me an e-mail at reidarmosvold_AT_gmail.com and I'll see what I can do!
-r
Dear Raidar
I started reading your blog during the ICME 11. I did not attend ICME but through your blog I could follow what was happening. Thanks!!
I am from Brazil where I teach Mathematics at the university level. I am also a supervisor at a Graduate Program in Mathematics Education.
I appreciate so much the information you organize for us about journals, conferences and so on.
I think it is ok you write abstract for teachers if you have time for this. If not, I think what you are doing is already a very important contribution for us.
I suggest your blog to all my students and colleague.
All the best
Miriam
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